Tag Archives: Matthew Stafford

Let’s clarify a bit. My DEEP SLEEP pick of the week has very specific criteria:

They must be available in most leagues – I’ll try find you a guy who’ll probably show up on every other fantasy site’s waiver-wire adds the next week. Hear my reasoning, exercise a little faith, and add them when I say, in order to avoid the hype-hysteria that is sure to come.

They must be more than a mere bye-week filler – I’m not going to find you a guy who’ll be good for only 1 week. That takes rather average analysis, so I’ll leave it to the average man. I’m here to give you substance and thoughtful projected values for the remainder of the fantasy season.

They must be unpopular among major media outlets – This is a mixture of the last 2 points, but if everybody else is already talking about it, you probably don’t want to hear about it again. And besides, if everybody’s talking about it, your opponents probably already heard it.

Now that we got that out of the way, I’d like to revisit my picks prior as glowing examples of DEEP SLEEP. Two weeks ago, it was Jacob Tamme, and in his first 2 starts, he amassed 172 yards and 2 TDs – that makes him the #1 TE for the last 2 weeks. With Manning’s Midas Touch, Tamme’s doing a great job filling in for an injured Dallas Clark. Without any doubt, he has become an easy Top-3 TE. Woe onto those who foolishly passed him by – he won’t be cheap from here on out. Now, last week’s pick was Sidney Rice, and although he didn’t play, there is still good news to look at for those of you who picked him up: Brett Favre threw for 446 yards and 2 TDs. That’s more than just a good omen for when Rice gets back onto the field, especially considering how much Favre likes him. He might play week 10, but for sure, starting week 11, Sidney Rice should produce high-end WR2 numbers on a consistent basis. If you didn’t pick him up to bolster your fantasy play-off roster last week, you can almost certainly know he won’t be an easy add this week.

Okay, so before we move on to this week’s “Deep Sleep”, I’d like to first acknowledge the endless thanks and bountiful praise from the loyal readers who picked up Jacob Tamme and played him last week. He scored the 4th-most points out of all TEs, and from the looks of it, he should put up WR-esque numbers on a week-to-week basis until the end of the season. He dropped a few passes, but it’s encouraging that Manning targeted him 9 times – even on crucial 3rd downs. Manning obviously trusts him, and with a bit more time, Tamme’s hands should become fly-paper. If I were a braver man, I’d even say he’ll score more each week than the other 84. Man, I’m feeling adventurous today. If Manning trusts him, I trust him. Hold me to it.

Anyway, congratulations to those of you who managed to snag him off the waivers. If you were a doubting Thomas and chose to ignore my advice and you’re trying to pick him up this week, you probably missed your chance. Zach Miller and Vernon Davis are now both banged up a bit, which only adds to the fantasy-TE-craze, so unless you are the #1 waiver position this week, I’d suggest you try to convince the players in front of you to pick up other players instead. And that’s a great segue because this week’s “Deep Sleep” could be that other player.